Tie strangled Popeye Doyle? (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
dead heat
'tie' is the definition.
(dead heat is a kind of tie)
I can't explain the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for dead heat that I've seen before include "Race result in which two or more finish exactly level" , "Produce tie" , "two are inseparable here" , "A draw in race, competitors finish exactly even" , "'An exact tie in a race (4,4)'" .)